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any time between the date of full recovery specified in the medical
documentation and 80 calendar days prior to that date. However, in no
instance may the mandatory alternate duty assignment begin earlier than 60
calendar days prior to the date of full recovery provided by the examining
physician. For any such employee who meets the eligibility criteria set forth
above, as determined on the basis of medical documentation satisfactory to
management, the appointing authority is required to take one of the
following actions:
1. offer the employee a mandatory alternate duty assignment for up to 60
calendar days which takes into account the employee’s physical
limitations; or
2. where a mandatory alternate duty assignment cannot be provided,
arrange for the employee to receive a supplement equal to the difference
between that employee’s full statutory benefit rate based on 100 percent
disability and the partial disability statutory benefit rate paid to that
employee by the SIF. This supplement is payable for the period the
mandatory alternate duty assignment would have been expected to last, not
to exceed 60 calendar days.
If a qualified employee does not request an alternate duty assignment,
agency management may direct the employee to return to work on an
alternate duty basis. Such alternate duty assignment shall be for up to 60
calendar days and shall take into account the employee’s physical
limitations.
The employee who accepts a mandatory alternate duty assignment is
entitled to receive his/her regular full salary for the period of the mandatory
alternate duty assignment. Where an employee declines a mandatory
alternate duty assignment, the employee will be referred to the SIF for an
appropriate benefit determination. Employees who neither request nor are
ordered to return to work continue to receive wage replacement benefits
from the SIF in accordance with the Workers’ Compensation Law.
C. Medical Documentation
Medical documentation submitted to support an employee’s participation
in the Mandatory Alternate Duty Program must be satisfactory to
management. This documentation should contain the following
information: a statement that the employee is 50 percent or less disabled, an
estimated date of full recovery that is within 80 calendar days of the date of
the medical examination, and a statement of the physical limitations which
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